


happy, free, confused

by awesomeaislin



Series: Carry On Countdown 2018 [26]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Christmas Card, DEC 20 - Christmas Cards, Fluff, M/M, family bickering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 05:49:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17074547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awesomeaislin/pseuds/awesomeaislin
Summary: Penny, Simon, and Baz try to create the perfect Christmas Card"“Absolutely not, Bunce,” Baz snaps.This Christmas card is a bad idea from every level, but according to Penny her mum had insisted that they do it. (“Something to send the neighbors! and put in your memory box!”) But what are they even going to write on it? ‘Happy holidays from the Bunce-Snow-Grimm-Pitches’? That would be absolutely ridiculous."





	happy, free, confused

**Author's Note:**

> this was fun, but I'm very tired, and I wanna sleep and why don't i ever have anytime?

“Baz smile,” Penny orders for what is probably the fifth time. Truth be told, Simon has kind of stopped paying attention since Penny told him he wasn’t allowed to eat the candy canes because they were ‘for show’. He thinks it’s been a while though. Baz has been being difficult for a while. 

 

“Absolutely not, Bunce,” Baz snaps. 

 

This Christmas card is a bad idea from every level, but according to Penny her mum had insisted that they do it. ( _ “Something to send the neighbors! and put in your memory box!”)  _ But what are they even going to write on it? ‘Happy holidays from the Bunce-Snow-Grimm-Pitches’? That would be absolutely ridiculous. 

 

And none of them are particularly easy to get along with, so of course deciding on an idea went incredibly badly. Because it was Penny’s Christmas card she got final say which is why they’re all dressed to her specification (Baz had to be blackmailed into his outfit.).

 

But now Baz is refusing to take part, and Penny really doesn’t have the patient. It’s like working with toddlers. Every so often Simon wanders away and messes something up, and then they go back to square one because Baz gets distracted making fun of him. 

 

And not once, not twice, but three time she had to physically stop them from aggressive pda. ( _ It’s not that public, but she’s here for christ’s sake.) _

 

“Basil,” Penny tries. Sometimes if she says his name with enough forced patience and contempt he acts like a normal fucking human being. “The sooner you comply, the sooner we can all be done with this.”

 

“I’m not smiling for this idiotic picture,” Baz snaps again. “This is ridiculous, none of us look normal. This is insane.”

 

“This is not insane,” Penny argues. “We’re wearing red and green because it’s Christmas. And we can send this to our families, and it’ll be nice.”

 

“If you send this to my family, I’ll set you on fire,” He threatens. 

 

They hear a crash from the kitchen which means Simon has escaped (again), but neither of them acknowledge it. Whatever he’s broken can be dealt with later. Besides, he probably needs a snack anyway, he gets kind of annoying when he doesn’t eat every four minutes. 

 

“Ok, well there will be nothing to send, if you don’t smile for this fucking photo,” Penny complains. 

 

“Why do I have to be smiling?” 

 

“Because it shows you’re happy.”

 

“I would be a lot happier if we weren’t setting up this card like this,” Baz rolls his eyes. “Why does the card have to be so staged? Why can’t it just be a nice photo of the three of us?”

 

“Because there aren’t any because it is always just the three of us,” Penny sighs. “I think it would be better that way too, but a photo like that just doesn’t exist.”

 

“Does anyone want a scone?” Simon calls from the kitchen. 

 

“No,” They both call back, but he emerges with about fourteen scones anyway. 

 

“I thought we said no?” Penny questions.

 

“Yeah, these are for me,” Simon grins. 

 

“Give one here,” Baz rolls his eyes. When Simon hands them both a scone, he smirks, “Someone has to keep yourself from giving yourself diabetes.”

 

“Why don’t we just take a photo like this?” Simon asks. 

 

And, really, why don’t they? A Christmas card of just them sitting on the couch, and Simon holding a mountain of scones, and Baz making fun of them, and Penny exasperated at the both. 

 

“We might as well,” Penny sighs. Honestly it’s better this way, that way at very least everyone will know what she puts up with. 

 

So, they set the camera up and pose. Simon is beaming at the camera, Baz is smiling (just a little ( _ but a whole lot for him)) _ at Simon, and Penny is putting on her very best ‘ _ I swear they’re not driving me crazy’  _ face. 

 

When it comes out she knows it’s perfect, so she orders a bunch of Christmas Cards to send to all their friends (and of course her Mum (and despite his protests one gets sent to Baz’s stepmum)). 

 

She keeps a copy, and has it framed even though they’ve all seen it multiple times. She hangs it up in their living room and everytime she sees it she smiles. (Everytime Baz sees it he rolls his eyes but that’s besides the point.)  
  
And she does it every year until they have quite the collection of Christmas cards. She even does it the year they move into separate apartments. She lives with Micah and Simon lives with Baz. (She’s a little surprise the place hasn’t burned to the ground yet, but that’s besides the point.) But they take the Christmas card anyway. 

 

She even gets Baz to smile in a few of them. 


End file.
